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Ethical behaviour guides on Fairness Tool Kit app

Noel Towell

Australian politicians and public servants tempted by bribery or corruption can soon turn to a mobile moral compass if their own consciences are found to be wanting.

The inventors of a ''diagnostic'' smartphone app say their software offers a simple and convenient way to stay out of trouble with bodies such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Public sector governance specialists, The Ethicos Group, are in the final stages of developing their anti-corruption app that will fit neatly into the smartphones of business people, bureaucrats and politicians.

Ethicos says federal departments, states, territories and even universities are already clamouring for the technology.

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Ethicos principal and veteran corruption fighter Howard Whitton says the group has already had some success with its anti-bullying app, the Fairness Tool Kit.

But as the daily revelations from ICAC tear the NSW political establishment apart, Mr Whitton says Australia is ready for the sequel: the Integrity Tool kit.

He says a smartphone owner faced with an ethical dilemma can use the app to choose from up to 30 hypothetical scenarios, and choose the one closest to their own predicament.

''One of the scenarios is someone in a position of power offering someone else in a position of power a backhander,'' he said.

''Remember that this is a diagnostic tool, so that's potentially a criminal offence, potentially an electoral offence, it's potentially a breach of the organisation's code of conduct, a corruption offence.''

After telling the operator how much trouble they could be in as a result of the wrong decision, the app will then offer a lifeline, generating the phone number of the proper authority, such as ICAC, the Public Service Commission or even their trade union.

There will be two versions of the Integrity Tool Kit.

One is for individual workers and the other one is for their employers.

''Individuals can download it from iTunes and organisations can license it from us and we'll build them a bespoke version if they want, say specific to the Commonwealth or specific to a university,'' Mr Whitton said.

''The corporate version is aimed at risk management rather than telling the corporation what it should do.

''So they'd be able to use it for [staff] certification.

''We'd link it to a data management system whereby they could require their staff to cite their certification on OH&S, bribery and corruption, whatever it is, then they could mine that data and identify risks.

''So the aim of the corporate version is to keep the corporation out of the courts.''

Mr Whitton believes the Integrity Tool Kit will find a market from the big end of town down to the humble local council.

''In politics, in the corporate sector, in government, in local government, especially,'' Mr Whitton said.

1 comment so far

Both of these apps sound really interesting, but when I searched for the Fairness Tool Kit, I couldn't find it - in iTunes or Google.

Googled the Ethicos Group and couldn't find them either, except in reference to this article.